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Corneal neovascularization reduced with short-term topical anti-VEGF
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Short-term topical bevacizumab may reduce corneal neovascularization, according to a study.
The prospective, nonrandomized trial included 20 eyes of 20 patients with stable corneal neovascularization. All patients received topical 1% Avastin (bevacizumab, Genentech) two or four times daily for 3 weeks; patients were monitored for 24 weeks.
Neovascular area, defined as the area of corneal vessels, vessel caliber, defined as the mean corneal vessel diameter, and invasion area, defined as the fraction of the total cornea into which the vessels extended, were measured in all patients.
By week 6, a statistically significant improvement was observed in neovascular area (P = .007). By week 12, vessel caliber also had a significant improvement (P = .006).
Neovascular area (P < .001) and vessel caliber (P = .003) experienced significant decreases at the final visit.
“Interestingly, eyes with smaller areas of stable [corneal neovascularization] at baseline demonstrated greater responses to topical bevacizumab treatment than eyes with larger areas of neovascularization invasion, a finding that warrants further investigation,” the study authors said.
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